Egg carrier



' May 16, 1933. .n.lR. ROLAND ETAL 1,909,898

EGG CARRIER Filed NOV. 14, 1930 2 Sheets-She-et l yuck 7 INVNTOQ.

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May 16, 1933 J. R. ROLAND ET A1. 1,909,898

EGG- CARRIER Filed Nov. 14, 1930 2 sheets-Sheffv 2 l2, 1 L52 Z' NVENTOR. M

m7,@ VWM/ whwf. M4 r ATTORNEYS.

PatentedMay 16, 1933 y LVUNITED STATES PATENT OFF IACXB. ROLAND AND HARRY J'. TRAUNER, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, AS

SIGNOBB '.lO ILLINOIS PACIFIC COAST COMPANY, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA,

A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE Ree CARRIER Y VApplication med November 14, 193C. Serial No. 495,627.

This invention pertains to egg carriers and more particularly to a. novel means for acking, storing and shipping eggs or other objects of fragile or perishable nature. p

It is the object 4of the present 'invention to provide means' for facilitating the handling and shipping of eggs orthelike.. 'I his object is attained through the provision of a carrier adapted to have eggs arranged in it in the usual fillers, said'carrier having handles on it by means of which the carrier together with its entire contents can be' inserted in or removed from an egg crate in a single operation. The handles are so positioned as to protrude through openings formed in the crate and serve as a means to handle the crate and also as an'aid to maintaining the crates in their proper stacked relation Vduring shipping and handling. p i i The invention is shown by Way of illustration in the' accompanying drawings in' which-- n v Fig. 1 is a perspective view of an egg carrier designed in accordance with our invention and shown as filled With eggs, i Fig. `2 is a centralyertical cross section of a crate with the carrier insertedvtlierein, and l Fig. 3 is an elevation of a number of crates stacked ltogether showing the mannerlin Awhich the handlesA of the carriers serve to maintain them in spaced relation.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, and especially to Fig. 1, We show an egg carrier which consists of a rectangular shaped piece of cardboard of similar material which is bent so as to form a base mem; ber 10 and end members 11 extending upwardly therefrom.

The upper edges of the end members 11 are bent back upon themselves as at 12 and then outwardly at right angles to form flaps 13. The upper portions of the end members 11 together With the bent back portions 12 are provided with apertures 14 forming handles by which the entire carrier may be picked up. The carrier is of such a size and, shape as to accommodate the usual egg crate fillers such as are used for supporting eggs Within a crate and which consistfof'a central vertical partition as indicated atll,

aplurality of separating pads, or horizon-- tal partitions 17, and the usual supporting members 18 interposed therebetween, in cross relation to form individual cellsv forI supporting the eggs. x

The base vmember 10 is provided'fwith three cleats such as indicated at '19, the purpose of Which Will be setV forth hereinafter. Y

`The entire carrier, when filled With' eggs, is adapted tov fit snugly Within a crate such as `is generally indicated at 20 in Fig. 2. The crate may be of any desired construction and may be formed either of Wood, pasteboard, or other suitable materiah The crate, as usual, is box-shaped, having a bot-4 tom portion 21, end portions V22, sides (not shown) and a top indicated at 23. the

present instance, the crate shown is of paste# board and the top thereof is in the formpf l flaps hinged to the sides and adapted to 'be folded over the contents of the crate. The upper edge of the crate ends 22 is provided with a slot 23 through `which ythe handle members 12 of the carrier are adapted to extend in the manner shown in Fig. 2.' .y

@ne vadvantage presented by 'theV` I'lOYel structure of the carrier is that the eggs may be conveniently placed therein in ,their prop` er position for shipping owing to the fact that there areno sides to interfere with the packin Y p i The cellular fillers are placed inthe car,- rier, one layer at a time, and filled vvith eggs. When the carrier is filled it is picked up by the handle members 12 and slipped into the crate assuming the positionV shown in Fig. 2, in which ligure it Willbe noted that the cleats 19 maintain the basel() of the carrier in aV position slightly above the bottom 21 of the crate. The Vintermediate space provides sufficient room for a springf like action of the carrier in the eventfof rough handling so that the eggs therein are protected from the shock that they-Would receive if the base ofthe carrier rested against the ybottom 'of the crate'.

It will also be seen from` Fig.

I the fiat flaps 13, it is obvious that' additional strength is given to the handle members due to the engagement of the flaps with the cover, thus doubling the thicknessl of the handle which supports the weight ot' the crate.

Another salient advantage that is presented by the structure described is in the stacking of the crates. It'should be understood that eggs, when shipped by rail, are transported inv refrigeratorcars, and'it is desire able that the crates in which they are shipped be stacked in slightly spaced relation to eachother ,to permit of free Ycirculation of cold air between them. Fig. 3 shows several cratesy as they are stacked for shipping .and shows the manner in which the handles protrude from the endsof the crates and engage each other and prevent the cratesfrom being stacked too closely together.

Thehandlesalso serve a useful purpose when the crates are being loaded into or unloaded from cars, which is usually accomplished with'hand trucks. Ordinarily the crates are handled in stacks of four or tive on hand trucks, and while being so handled themembers l2 prevent the-top crates from sliding sidewise off of the stack. Y It will befunderstood from theforegoing that the filler members employed, in conne'ctionwith the carrier do not constitute a part of thepres'ent invention, but that any conventional type of lillers may be used,

Y aiid'thatthe crate also'may be otany type in which slots may be provided through lwhich the handles of the carrier may extend. While we have shown a preferred form ot our invention, it should beA understood that various Ychanges vmay be resorted to inY the construction and arrangement of itsl severalparts without departing from the spirit and'scope ofthe appendedclaims. Having thusY described our invention, what weclaim and desire to secure byLetters Patent, is Y v l. Inrcombination with a crate and filler members for spacing and supporting articles therein,`a carrieradapted to contain said filler members whereby they' may be inserted infand removed from said crate y,as Va unit, said carrier having-handles formed tliereontoY extend through suitable apertures formed in the crate'whereby thecrate may be handled thereby.

2. In combination with a crate Vhaving slots formed inltskopposite ends, a carrier for supporting the contents of ,the crate,

said carrierv having handles Yadapted to extend 'through said slots Vwhereby they willV serve as handles for .the/crate when the vcarrier is 1n the crate. 2

3. In combination, a crate, an egg carrier upon the first crate will nest between saidv handles, said handles being so positioned as to cooperate with handles on other crates to maintain an air space between crates stacked endzto end. a

5. A carriel1 for supporting objects in a crate, comprising a single piece 'of materialy forming a base, upwardly bent portions forming end members, handles formed at the top edges of said end members by bending said material awayffrom the endmembers and back upon itself, and top flaps bent from the inner ends of said handles. Y

G. A device ot ythe character described, comprising a crate including siderportions, a top portion and end portions oi less height than the side portions to provide slots be-y tween their upper edges andthe top portion, and a filler having handles ladaptedgto extend outwardly through said slots.V

7. A device of the character described, comprising a .crate including side portions, a topportlen andend portions of less height thanthe side portions ytoprovide slots Abetween their upper edges and top portionand a carrier comprising a single pieceoi'Qmaf terial forming a base, -upwardly bent portions forming end members, handles formed at'the tepedgesof/said top members by bending material awayfrom the end Amembers and back upon itself, Asaid handles lli) 

